The fallout continues over Volkswagen's emissions scandal, with Michael Horn, the company's CEO for United States operations, suddenly indicating that he will be stepping down from his position.
According to reports, the decision for Horn to vacate his seat was mutual, and he will be replaced in the interim by executive Hinrich Woebcken. Horn has been with Volkswagen for 25 years, but is said to be now leaving to pursue other interests after running the United States operations of the company since the start of 2014.
Horn served as the public face of the embattled brand, reaching out to consumers and dealers in events such as auto shows with an endless stream of apologies for the so-called cheat devices that were found to be installed in 11 million Volkswagen diesel vehicles. The devices allowed the vehicles to cheat emissions tests, passing them despite normally releasing more emissions than allowed.
Prosecutors in Germany have expanded the investigation of the scandal from six suspects to 17 suspects. The names of the individuals have not been revealed but is said that there is no current or former member of the Volkswagen management board on the list of suspects.
It was earlier reported that former Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn, along with other senior leaders, knew about the cheating early on. Horn was never implicated in the issue, and was in fact very active in guiding the brand when the scandal exploded. This could explain why there is a lot of criticism with the move.
"People know this scandal was rooted in Germany, which is why this is so surprising," said Kelley Blue Book senior analyst Rebecca Lindland, adding that if Volkswagen wanted scapegoats to take the blame, there were other options that would be a better fit aside from Horn.
"We are troubled watching the mismanagement of this scandal from Germany, and how it may impact the ultimate decisions by the authorities in the United States," said the Volkswagen dealers association in a statement. It added that the departure of Horn could lead to more risks for the car company and is seen as a serious blow to dealers in the country, who have long been complaining the lack of support that they have received from Volkswagen's management in Germany.
